It would be interesting to see the statistics on the number of overweight people in Mostviertel compared to Weinviertel and Waldviertel. While Mostviertel’s Brettljausen are generally heavy and super-porky, the ones from the Wachau and Kamptal are usually lighter and more refined in comparison. Jurecek’s Jause is definitely on the “lighter,” bordering with “not enough” side.
There is no Brettl, to start with, which is again quite common in this area. Jurecek serves two types of “mixed” Jausen: a “Gemischte Hausplatte” – containing, according to the description in the menu, different types of meat and cheese – and an “Amethystjause,” named after the nearby quartz museum, which includes “different types of meats and spreads.” I have decided to go for the cheese, which might have been a mistake, since “different types of meat and cheese” turned out to be three types of meat and one type of cheese. On the other hand, the Amethystjause that I saw did not look especially more varied.
The meats – Schweinsbraten, slices of Speck and some sort of dry salty ham – were superb, the Speck in particular tasting very much like well-cooked Stelze (on a second though, it could have very well been thinly cut Stelze and not Speck after all). The cheese was of the standard tastless sort, but, when combined with the meat, sort of enhanced it. The two types of bread they served – a dark one and a Salzstange – were amazingly fresh, and I could have easily lunched on bread and wine alone.
The problem was, this pleasant little Jause could have been turned into an amazingly good one with a minimum of effort – just by adding another type of ham, perhaps a sausage, a slice of soft tasty cheese and some horseradish, butter and mustard. The way it was served, on the other hand, would have left me hungry, had I not ordered a salad with it. There is some other stuff on the menu though, so if you are not alone, perhaps the best choice would be to order an Amethystjause, a mixed cheese plate and something meaty in addition and then share.
Oh, and beware of people trying to join you at your table. In my case, I could not avoid it, as I was sitting alone and all the other tables were either taken or booked. At the end, the old couple sharing an Amethystjause actually provided a bit of entertainment, with the husband explaining to the wife how well he could still remember Russian from the time after the war, yet paying absolutely no attention to me speaking Russian on the phone.
Leave a Reply